Oh My Dog!
by MimiMika
Summary: Good-for-nothing college student Hashi Mika finally gets a boyfriend! His name is Sesshoumaru and he happens to be handsome and divine! Except they have no chemistry. But Kikyo can fix this up, right-great, Inuyasha's here. Well, it's-oh, Kagome. Er...
1. Moonlight and Cherry Blossoms

Moonlight and Cherry Blossoms

In Japan, there's a club called "Girl Scouts", yet they aren't the usual American cookie selling girls. It's a club for girls that don't plan to get married, or just needs a place to sleep, in exchange for the privilege of having a boyfriend.

The dorms inside the club were small and cramped, but if you didn't have a job, and you were a college freshman, the "Girl Scouts" was your best choice. So, when Hashi Mika graduated from high school and decided to attend Nokomi Tech, one of the best colleges in Japan, known for its mechanical brilliance.

But after she got all her wanted classes, her parents were called away on a scientific meeting to America to study the marine animals, like seals and whales, leaving Mika homeless, and broke. She searched the web for a place to stay for free, and after 5 lonely days, she found the "Girl Scouts" and moved in.

They gave her Dorm Room #7 and a list of rules they upheld such as:  
"Rule Number 1: You can't have a boyfriend or a boy in your presence in the dorm!  
Rule Number 2: You have to buy Senpai McDonalds every Saturday with your own money.  
Rule Number 3: You have to answer all of our calls." and so and so. It was a horrible deal, but at that time, Mika would take any offer.

The dorm room's furniture consisted of a tiny, narrow, lumpy white bed, a walnut bedside table with a lamp and red telephone hanging on the wall, a small desk with masses of papers thrown all over it, a wall mirror, and a tall white wardrobe. Every time Mika came home to her dorm room, she would sigh and wish she could afford better matching furniture.

One day, she came into the dorm empty and cold. After poking her nose in her Senpai's room, she knew they were gone again. Proof of that was a note stuck on the refrigerator in the office. It said: "While we are gone, you, Mika, must answer our calls. We have left some lunch for you."

Mika threw her attention to the desk that the note came from. An empty chip bag was the only remains of food in the entire dorm.

"Lunch??? That's not even considered as a snack!!! What do they think I am??? Some worm that eats trash??? My gosh!!!" she complained as she crunched the bag between her fingers. She threw it in the trash can and walked back to her room. Squatting beside her narrow bed, she took the receiver from the red telephone and dialed the newly built _Panda Express_ for takeout. She tapped her finger on the beside table as she waited for an answer. A click on the other line told Mika that someone had answered the phone.

"Um, excuse me? I would like to order some takeout?" she asked, standing up now.

A gruff voice answered her. "Oh I'm sorry miss, but we don't do takeout on Thursdays. Only on Friday and Monday we do. Please try tomorrow," the person said, and the phone hanged up.

"What? What kind of business refuses its customers like that???" she cried, and dialed _Hong Kong Noodles_, hoping she'd get better luck than her recent try. Instead, a recorder message answered her call.

"We are currently closed today! Please eat Hong Kong Noodles some other time!" Click.

Mika bit her lip and was about to slam the phone down, when her stomach growled. Shaking her head in frustration, she pressed random 7 numbers and waited to see if someone would answer. After waiting for a minute, she heard a bark on the phone and someone said, "Yes? This is the Inugami Helpline," a lady voice spoke.

"Helpline? I'm starving! I need help!!!" she exclaimed and the lady voice laughed.

"Well then, you've called the right number. Please wait a moment for us to send one of our helpers to your place." The line went dead. Mika cried helplessly in the dead phone.

"Wait Miss, I didn't mean that kind of--"

A shimmering light and a howl greeted her shout. She spun her attention to the mirror, which seemed suspiciously bright. Suddenly, the mirror shone white, and a blinding hole grew in the center of the mirror. Something like a dog's bark rang into Mika's ears, and in a second, a large dog, about the size of a dinner table, leaped into her room.

The dog was outrageously beautiful. It had beautifully combed white fur, well kept claws, and godlike eyes. Mika fell to her knees when the dog panted and barked at her.

"You call this help??? I can't take care of a dog when I can't take care of myself!!!" Mika yelled and rubbed her temples. She glanced at the dog. "How did you come through the window anyway?"

The dog barked and stood up on its hind legs. Mika fell backwards and covered her eyes as the dog transformed into a boy. She blinked, and in the canine's place was a silver-haired 19-year old boy, dressed in an elaborate Japanese Kimono, tied with a golden obi sash. On his left shoulder, there lay a long white tail.

"Oh my--"

"What do you wish for?"

Mika blinked again. "What?"

"You need help right?" The boy's voice was smooth, low, and handsome.

"Uh..." The young college girl's mind went racing. _Oh I get it. My senpai are testing me, to see if I can get a boyfriend or some sort. I bet they hired a crossdresser, cut a hole in the mirror, and used strings to make it seem all godly. Oh, but you guys don't fool me!_

"What do you mean wish? I can wish for anything I want?"

The boy stayed silent and held up one finger. "Only one."

_Hm,_ she thought, _one wish..._ "So I can wish for money? Clothes? A house? Or even..." Mika's eyes sparkled with sparks. "GOLD?"

"Anything you desire."

"Anything..." Mika grinned and closed her eyes. When she opened her eyes again, her smile grew wider and she threw a slim finger at him. "I wish for you to be my boyfriend forever!!!"

At first there was silence. Then the boy shook his head. "No can do."

Mika felt her back crack. "YOU JUST SAID I COULD HAVE ANYTHING I WANT! I WANT A BOYFRIEND!"

"But--"

"I WANT A BOYFRIEND!" she whined, opening a eye to see if he was caught in her trap. _You're shocked huh? You didn't expect me to be so smart huh? Well--_

The boy closed his eyes and fell onto his hands. He transformed back into a canine and howled to the ceiling. Thousands of wolf cries answered his, as if they were discussing Mika's decision. A whirl of wind surrounded the noble beast, and the girl's things flew around the dorm, creating a mess. Then after this godly moment, the dog turned back into a human, with a disappointed expression.

"What in the world was that?" she asked, trembling with fright.

"It's approved," he murmured and looked at her with his golden eyes.

Mika shook her head. "Approved? Wait you mean for real? This is a joke right?"

"No..."

"You can't live here! They'll kick me out! I've got to get you out of here," she screamed and threw her hands over his neck. Unfortunately, her senpais had come home at this moment.

"Mika! Did we get any calls?" the older women said, sliding the dorm door open. When they saw the boy they gave her irritated looks. Veins seemed to pop out of their foreheads, and she smiled with an evilness.

"Uh, well, um, I can explain Senpai--"

"Mika-chan," a short Senpai began, "You know the very first rule that upholds this Girl Scouts club."

The taller women finished her sentence. "Rule Number 1: You can't HAVE a BOYFRIEND or A BOY in your presence of the dorm!!!"

The rest of the older women began a cry of protest. "No boys, no boys, no boys--"

"Wait, wait, you've got this all wrong! Come on, you know I have no luck with boys--"

The cries of the Senpai filled the room as they seized her things and threw them into boxes. Some of the things they threw in were:  
Useless wires that were supposedly energy saving, electrical fans, her laptop, discs of anime shows, a tablet for the computer, a printer, a lamp, her cellphone, her pants, her shoes, her coat, some frames of her family, headphones, a broken down ipod, teacups and teapots, stained trays, old gum that had been stuck to her boots, and some old tapes of the American show, _I Love Lucy_.

"No! Don't touch that! It was 109 yen--ahh! That's my underwear--"

"NO BOYS, NO BOYS, GET OUT, GET OUT!" they shouted, and began carrying her and the boy away. When they reached the exit, they kicked her outside, throwing her coat onto her.

"Gomenasai Mika-chan, but rules are rules. When you get a new address, we'll send the rest of your things," the taller woman explained, throwing a stuffed yellow backpack next to her. She slammed the door, leaving a depressed girl crying and sobbing.

"We're--we're homeless!!! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME???" she sobbed, pounding the floor with her fist. The boy next to her looked at her strangely. "We are?"

Mika felt cold breezes against her neck. She twisted her head, her face a nasty frown. "YES WE ARE HOMELESS! THANKS TO YOU!!!"

"I didn't do anything, you wished for a boyfriend..."

"Why didn't you tell me it wasn't a joke..." She sniffed. "I'm sorry, it's not your fault. I'm just upset that we have to live in the streets now," she clarified, wiping her tears with her sleeve.

"What about your parents?"

"I'm a little over 18, so they aren't obliged to look after me anymore. I'm also broke, and I have no car or motorcycle."

"Oh." Mika sniffed again and turned to the boy. "I never caught your name. Mine's Mika," she said, holding out a hand. The boy looked at her confusedly. "You're supposed to shake it."

He shook her hand with force and whispered, "Sesshoumaru."

_Okay..._ Mika stood up, stretching her arms. Sesshoumaru stood up beside her, and inquired, "What do we want to do now?"

Mika paced up and down outside of the dorm. "Look for a new home. I mean, you're a--" She scratched her head. "What are you?"

"Inugami," he replied, barely audible.

"An inugami needs a good home to stay in. I know of a cheap apartment we can stay in," she remembered, hitting her fist against her right hand. "It's just over by the corner, we can walk there!"

Sesshoumaru nodded, his bangs clearing away to show the crescent moon mark on his forehead.

After walking quite a bit, Mika knocked on the door of the apartment office. A young woman came out, eyed Sesshoumaru and chuckled. Mika suspected the woman had the hots for him and refused her offer to let her stay for 10 yen a month, if Sesshoumaru would live with her.

They exited the apartment and searched the local streets for a place to stay. Finally, after the 15th try, (the previous try turned out horrible; the owner of the apartment was an old man that believed in spirits and when he saw Sesshoumaru, he closed the door in Mika's face) Mika threw a fist at a vendor machine next to a bench in the park. Sesshoumaru took a seat on the bench, watching Mika groan in dissatisfaction.

"This is hopeless, we'll have to settle living in trash cans and garbage dumps. Until I graduate from college," she said, sliding down onto the floor, "we'll have to live like hobos." She sighed and turned to Sesshoumaru. "Hey, do inugamis get hungry? Cause if you are, I can buy us some soup." She made a gesture to the vendor machine. "They have several flavors..."

"I don't know," he replied. Mika shook her head. _This boy is definitely not streetwise,_ she thought. She took out some money, deposited it into the slot, and pressed two varieties of warm soup in a can. When the cans dropped down, Mika snatched them and handed the tomato soup to Sesshoumaru.

"Here you go. It's warm." She sat down next to him, watching the inugami examining the can curiously.

"How do you drink this?" he asked, spinning it like a ball. Mika sighed and put her can of soup beside her. She took the soup can and broke a hole for him. Handing it back to him, she started drinking her soup.

The boy sniffed it, then took a sip of it.

"Um, Sesshoumaru? I have a question," she said.

"What is it?"

"Why did you grant my wish? Don't other people in this world have it worse than me?"

"The Wheel weaves as it wills," he replied and gulped down his soup. "This is good," he commented.

"So, Inugami-sama, since you are a dog god type person thing, can you sniff out a place for us to sleep in or something?"

Sesshoumaru compressed the can easily with his strong hands, then shrunk it until it became dust. "Sure," he replied.

"If you could, why didn't you say so sooner???"

"You didn't ask."

Mika growled in irritation and threw her can in the garbage can. "So where's this place?"

A sparkle in his eye told Mika that he was waiting for this moment. "It's the old temple to the west."

The two walked to a bus stop where they waited for the bus to pick them up. While waiting, Mika would babble about how horrible the Girl Scouts had treated her.

When the bus arrived, they jumped in and told the bus driver they were heading to the temple. They took a seat in the way back, where Mika laid her head on Sesshoumaru's shoulder as the bus went up and down on the bumpy road. After they reached their destination, they got out of the bus and walked to the distant temple.

Unluckily, at this time the clouds breached across their heads and began to rain. It poured down immensely, slapping the twos' backs as they strolled as fast as they could. When they reached the stairs, Mika realized Sesshoumaru had halted in his steps. He looked sleepy eyed, and the way he walked look as if he had drunk 5 bottles of beer.

"Sesshoumaru--" she cried out as he fell into her arms. His eyes were closed and it seemed as if he was running out of breath.

"I'm alright," he assured her, and went to sleep after that. Mika struggled under his weight and had to drag him up the stairs. She set him gently on the floor in the temple room and poked through her backpack to dry the inugami's clothes.

But most of the stuff in her backpack was useless.  
The senpai had put in a toaster, a radio that had no batteries, and a broken web cam. They even stuffed in Mika's lingerie, which was a little ripped. Finally, after a bit of rummaging through the things a person would not need on a regular rainy day, she found a hair dryer.

"Hey, hair dryers have heat! I need a plug," she said to herself as she searched the room for a plug. She paced the room in circles at least three times, then threw the hair dryer at the floor. "You fool, temples don't use electricity!"

She gave a stare at the unconscious inugami. His silver hair shone with a brilliant luster, and his face seemed handsome when it was wet. Mika blushed at the sight of him. _He's kind of cute..._

Then she snapped back into reality, and slapped her head. "He's going to freeze to death while I'm admiring him!" She poked through her backpack again, until she felt something soft. She pulled it out, and out came a large red blanket. "It seems they aren't so heartless," she chuckled and threw it over the inugami.

She sat on her feet, shivering from the cold air. Goosebumps popped up all over her arms and legs, trying to heat up the body. Suddenly, her vision went blurry, and her temperature raised up. She plummeted to the floor, breathing hard. "I shouldn't have worn shorts today..."

"Mmm..." moaned Sesshoumaru. He flicked his eyes open. It took him several minutes to realize he inside the temple. He sat up, and examined the room around him. He turned his head, and spotted a sick Mika, asleep with the fever. He put a cold hand on her forehead and retracted it. It was like touching flames.

"You silly girl," he said, and touched her forehead again, cooling down her temperature with "magic". Soon, after a bit her face didn't seem so stressed, and in place of her frown was a smile. He covered her with his blanket and exited the temple room as a canine. Panting, he sat outside of the temple.

The temple was broken down. The roof had holes everywhere, the doors were eaten by termites, and the wood was rotten with splinters. It was definitely not fit for anyone to live in. Even the stairs were ruined; they had eroded through the years and now it was just a pile of rocks.

He held his snout to the setting moon in the mist. He howled a cry, and soon wolves, and domestic dogs gathered into the center of the temple. Some jumped down from the clouds as dog spirits, some leaped from the mountains, and some left their human homes to see what was the meeting about. Sesshoumaru barked orders to the dogs to help him repair the temple and soon, all of the dogs were howling loud and clear.

Magically, the dust and broken bricks floated in the air. The doors became white and pure, the wood regaining its strong strength back, the roof's holes clearing up. Trees and shrubs around the temple turned green again, and the floor became empty of leaves. When the hounds stopped howling, the sky returned to its regular blue, smiling on the fixed temple.

Mika opened up her eyes. The pain behind her eyeballs was gone, and her body seemed cool and comfortable. She looked around the room for Sesshoumaru. He wasn't there. She peeked her eyes at the open door. The sky was a pleasant azure, and the sun was high enough in the sky. She kicked her blanket off and exited the temple, searching for the inugami. She found him sitting on a rock with a horde of girl hounds licking at his face and biting his hair.

"Sesshoumaru?" she asked, picking up one of the female puppies. "Where did all these puppies and dogs come from? And why are they all female?"

"They helped me fix the temple," he replied and glanced at the temple. Mika followed his eyes and was awed at the beautiful temple. It was a sight to behold...

"But why aren't there any male alphas or something?"

"The males refused to come. I'm a guy you know," he said. "They're attracted to the opposite gender." A dog pawed at his hair and chewed at his clothes. He pulled them away, with an irritable look.

"Uh...somehow that doesn't sound good..." Mika said, stroking the dog's fur.

Sesshoumaru and Mika laughed at each other and went back inside the temple.

After searching endlessly in the backpack for a phone, Mika threw all the things on the floor. They rummaged the pile for her cellphone, and soon, Mika spotted her red cellular telephone. She dialed the Girl Scouts and told them her new address. When she closed it, she turned to Sesshoumaru and asked, "Um, can I get you something to drink or eat? You seem hungry."

"Sure, let me help you," he said, standing up. Mika held out her hands and walked forward.

"No I'm a girl so I have to do those things--" she began but tripped over a soda can. She fell into his arms and blushed.

"S-sorry, I'm a bit clumsy. I'll go make some tea--"

The door slid open, and in the doorway stood a 22-year old boy with black hair. With one arm, he was holding a heavy backpack. The boy was staring at Mika and her "boyfriend" with a cynical expression. Then all of a sudden, he burst into laughter and came over grinning.

"Aw, aren't you the cutest little sister? So you finally found yourself a man huh?"

Mika rubbed her nose and pulled away from Sesshoumaru. She patted her shorts and sniffed. "What do you know," she snapped. "How did you get here anyway, Hitachi???"

Hitachi beamed at her. "I have a car, unlike a certain sister."

"How did you know I was living here anyway?"

"I went to the Girl Scouts and they just told me your address, and here I am. Nice home," Hitachi commented, and stroked the wood. "Who did you hire to fix this place up? I remember this temple was broken down."

"Well, I have skills, unlike you, a playboy who has like 15 different girlfriends that have absolutely no idea that you're cheating on them," she retorted and sighed. "What do you want anyway? Money? I'm broke."

"No, I just need a place to stay. Wouldn't you feel safe if your older brother was here? He'll protect you from the monsters under the bed!" he teased. Then he grinned. He cupped a hand over her ear and whispered, "If you let me stay here, I won't tell Mom about your relationship with your boyfriend!"

"Relationship--"

"Then it's settled. Nice to you meet you, uh...what's your name?"

"Sesshoumaru--"

"AH! I just remembered! I was about to go make tea! Would you like some Hitachi?" Mika interrupted, fake laughing.

Suddenly the door slid open again.

"Mika-chan! We've come to celebrate your moving in!" came the voices of her senpais. Mika ran over to the door to greet them. The veins on their foreheads popped up again and the taller senpai gave a yell. She flung Mika off her feet and held her in the air.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU, GETTING SO MANY BOYS IN JUST ONE DAY???" she cried, breaking Mika's back in the process.

"Senpai, he's my brother I swear--"

"Uh...I'm her older brother," Hitachi explained, leaning on the doorway. The Senpai chuckled and let Mika fall back to the floor. "Well why didn't you say so?"

The short Senpai sat down a wine bottle and exclaimed, "Let's party!!!"

Mika shook her head as she watched the people set up chairs and tables. "Just when I had some peace and quiet?" She hung her head sadly.

Mika looked around the party room for Sesshoumaru. He wasn't there. _Maybe he's outside,_ she thought and stood up from her spot. Tiptoeing past the drunk senpais, she made her way to the door and found the inugami staring at the black sky that housed the white moon. She sat down next to him, watching the cherry blossom petals soaring above them.

"Hello," she greeted him.

"Hi," he replied. He put one arm on her shoulder. She felt herself warming up to him and laid her head on his shoulder.

_The Wheel weaves as it wills..._


	2. Midsummer Night's Dream

Midsummer Night's Dream

It had just been 5 months. Five short months until summer vacation. Five short months after Hashi Mika had dialed for take out and got a boyfriend instead. Five short plain months with a inugami with magical powers. Then again, that doesn't seem so plain. In fact, that can be hardly called regular!

It was in the middle of summer when Mika just finished her second semester classes in Nokomi Tech, a college best known for its mechanical brilliance. All the best mechanics had graduated from this small little college, which was now one of Japan's top-ranking colleges.

But it wasn't that was great. It was the part where she lived in the temple, alone with her boyfriend, free for them both to have a life to themselves...well, not alone. Actually, just before Mika and Sesshoumaru had settled in the temple with permission from the owner and caretaker, Hitachi, Mika's brother had found his way into the house. He moved in, and every morning, afternoon, and evening he would come back to the house to relax and eat.

The caretaker and owner of the temple had come back home at the party. Everyone was surprised, because they were partying at a place that no one had permission for. That was breaking privacy laws! Luckily, the owner, a priestess called Kagome shook her head and made a gesture as if it was normal for people to burst into someone's home.

Her exact words to the new couple were, 'I saw you two coming. It is such a blessing! Hallelujah! Praise Allah! Amitoto!!!'

She wore a Shinto Japanese clothing, and she was always carrying a short bow to lean on, even though she was probably only 18 years old. She walked normal, so she didn't have any back problems, yet she acted as if she had known the world for 100000 years or something.

That afternoon, it was even weirder! In fact, the events were beyond explainable...

~O~O~O~O~O~O~

Mika was chopping up vegetables for lunch on a regular summer day. It was quite humid, so Mika and her "new" boyfriend Sesshoumaru stayed inside from the sun's heat. Then, after a while, the temple went humid too. Mika had to search the temple, (which was more of a house) for a fan with Kagome's permission, then finally plugged one up. Soon, refreshing air was circulating the entire place.

Sesshoumaru was studying law from a law book. Yesterday, Mika had told him about attorneys and laws. He found this extremely amusing, and now he was reading those big, boring, best for look books. Kagome sat down next to him at the table he was reading at, sipping cold tea that she blew on, for no particular reason.

"Inugami-sama," she addressed, blowing on her ice cold tea and taking a sip, "what, may I ask, pray tell are you reading?"

The dog ignored her. At times like this, his true personality sparked. Finally, he responded with a cold glare at her.

"Is there, why, any reason you look so menacing at me? I am but a simple priestess that sweeps these floors..." She drunk from her tea cup and blew on it again.

He gave her silence. "...not really," he finally said. "It's just that you remind me of someone I REALLY don't like. Don't take it seriously. It's not your fault you were born with that face." He sighed and set the book down from his face. "...sorry...if that sounded mean..."

Kagome shook her head and gave a creepy stare at him. "I had a feeling, a mysterious feeling you were about to say that. It's like..." She gave a flash of her eyelashes and smiled mysteriously. "Fate..."

"Well fate or destiny, its my fate to make sure you guys get off the table or you'll get no lunch," came Mika's voice as she strolled out with a wet cloth in her hand. She smiled sweetly at Sesshoumaru. "Please put the book away. Lunch's about to be ready."

He set his book down immediately and blushed. "No problem," he whispered and put it aside as he watched Mika scrub the table sparkling clean. When she was done, she set a tea tray with the tea pot and tea cups in a predetermined arrangement onto the table. Pouring cups for 3, she got up and went back to the door. "If my brother comes in, tell him that he pours for himself."

"Will do with utmost promise," Kagome assured. Mika gave her strange look before reentering the kitchen.

Just then, like "fate", Hitachi burst into the room with sweat all over his body. He was heavy with breath, and threw his backpack aside. Stripping off his outer coat, he took a seat in front of the fan and fanned his clothes. "Dang, its like a volcano outside."

"Then why were you outside?" Sesshoumaru piped up, eying suspiciously.

"That's personal! You do know how hard it is to please a girl right?" Hitachi replied, smelling his clothes. "Ah, the smell of _her_ perfume is still there. That's good, I thought my sweat washed it away..."

"Eww, sweat? What were you doing, you playboy? Dousing yourself in a pool of sweat...Lunch's ready you two!" Mika said, coming back in the room with a tray of cooked vegetables and side dishes arranged on top of it.

"Eww, lunch? What were you making, you flat-chested tomboy? Dousing a bottle of soy sauce on the food...are you trying to kill us???" He gave a sniff at the fragrance and was about to make another comment when he spotted his empty cup. "Hey! You didn't pour any tea for me!"

Mika held out a hand with an evil grin. "Pay up, freeloader," she said. Hitachi glared at her. She sighed and took out the bowls and chopsticks. "Alright, alright. You can get away this time..."

"What do you mean get away? I pay my share of food expenses too--"

"May the gods and God bless us as we feast on this wonderful arrangement of food. Amen and praise Allah!" Kagome said, folding her hands in a prayer motion.

"Allah and God are the same God you know," Mika pointed out, and began picking up food from the dishes to her rice bowl. Sesshoumaru picked up his chopsticks and stared at the food as he held his bowl of rice. He was deciding which to take first.

"No, you dummy," Hitachi snapped, snatching the food from the plate before she grabbed it with her chopsticks. "Everybody knows that." He took a bite of cooked fish. "Not bad, if we include the incident with the American macaroni--"

"Do we have to mention the exploding potato too???" she moaned, stuffing food into her mouth. She gulped down two cups of tea and glared at the plates of food. Sesshoumaru chuckled silently and took a few servings of food himself.

"Yes we do, we have to tell the world how the potatoes exploded like dynamite!" He pounded the table as if it was the most funniest thing in the world. "Oh, and don't forget the time when you stuck buttered sausages into the straw! You squeezed the milk carton and the milk came out of the straw and--" He guffawed before finishing his sentence. His audience stared at him with no hint of laughter in their faces.

"That's not funny," Mika said, not even bothering to look at him in the eye. The tone in her voice emphasized the truth enough. It WAS not funny. Sesshoumaru and Kagome supported her statement with their "evil" glares. Hitachi gulped nervously, as if he saw Satan behind the three.

After a wondrous lunch, as Mika had put it, they patted their stomachs and sipped tea while enjoying the absent humidity. Just then, at that time, Hitachi sighed and put his head on his hand. He opened his mouth and asked, "Say, Mika, you haven't been to the ocean ever have you?"

Mika shook her head. "I'd love to go--"

Hitachi gave a surprised shout and pointed a finger at the shocked Mika. "AH!!!"

"W-what? You're scaring me--"

"I forgot! You can't swim!!!"

It seemed as if a vein had burst in her face because it turned a claret hue. Like a cherry, almost. "I CAN TOO!!!"

"My, my, you cannot swim? What a pitiful maiden..." Kagome commented, pouring some more tea for herself. But there was not a drop left. "Ah, I shall refill the delicious tea."

"About ten meters..." Mika's voice went silent. Hitachi smirked and closed his eyes.

"While drowning right?"

"Grr..."

Hitachi brought the dishes to the sink to wash and leaned on the counter. Sesshoumaru followed with his bowl and was about to leave when Hitachi said, "Hey, want some advice?"

"On what," he asked, washing his hands with warm water.

"Dating. Why don't you take my sister to the beach? Girls love it when boys do that; besides you'll get a good impression from her." He grinned. "So far, she probably has a so so image of you," he suggested. He went back into the room, which was full of chatter between Mika and Kagome. He pulled out a brochure about the nearest ocean and its hotel from his backpack and handed it to him. "Take a look. You can have it."

Mika went outside the temple and opened the mailbox. Kagome had requested that she should get the mail, which had not been opened for, maybe a year, at least. The year's worth of mail came plunging out like a water fountain, including the new letters, which were mysteriously added today. After searching through 15 letters, she found the most recent one: a small brown package. She dropped the other mail and went inside her room.

" 'The Best Experience'," Mika read, the title and spun it around. "Hmm, there's no return address." She got a letter opener from her junk pile and ripped the brown packaging off. When the paper was off, in her hand was a video tape. She entered it into the TV and sat on her legs to watch.

The screen flashed white before the animated images came on. A gruff man's voice narrated the video. Some jazz music and a woman singing a soft, slow love song filled the background in the video. Minutes later, Mika was staring at a couple embracing each other at the beach.

"Oh... my darling... my soul... only time... can lose your touch... ahh oh lord..." the man sang as the couple hugged tighter. Mika began to get a funny feeling in her stomach. Just then, the woman in the scene flashed a smile that seemed to be aimed at Mika.

Blue light filled the room, blinding the television and all the furniture nearby. It shone so bright, even the shadow of her own self was unseen. A leg kicked out of the screen literally, kicking this way and that way, then two hands poked out of the screen. Black hair drooped to the floor, and soon enough, a woman was standing in front of her.

In some mysterious way, she reminded Mika of Kagome. She had the same gentle smile and eyes, yet they were filled with mischievous sparkles. Her black hair was loose and flowing long, all down to her knees. Her bangs almost fell over her brown almond shaped eyes, and she wore strange garments made out of silk. They were all red, blue, and white, all wrapped up in some Arabian goddess style.

"Hi," she said, her voice sounding seductive and friendly at the same time. She held a hand onto her head then waved her hand at Mika, the bangles shaking with glimmer. "So, I've heard Sesshy is going to take you to the beach." She leaped beside Mika and slapped her cheek. Mika's face was pale as white, full of shock.

"S-S-Sesshy??? Who are you talking-- WHO ARE YOU???" she managed to cry out, blinking so much until tears began poking at the edges of her eyes.

The woman gave her a hard glare then grinned. "I'm the Cupid of Love, the Goddess of All Relationships!"

"If you're Cupid, where's your bow?"

"Oh, it's being fixed at the moment. Now, back to the story-- what do you plan to do when he hugs you, _that way_?"

"WHAT WAY?"

The woman giggled and patted her shoulder. "Oh you know; when the man puts his arms lower down your waist, his breath on your ear--"

"THERE'S NO WAY I'M GOING TO LET ANYONE DO THAT!!!"

"--and he's telling you "you're so sexy" in your bikini--"

"AHH! I HATE THOSE STRINGY TWO PIECES!!!"

"--and his kissing your cheek gently..."

"THAT'S SEXUAL HARASSMENT--" she screamed and broke out of the woman's grasp. Immediately, the woman spun around, got onto her two feet and pointed a slim finger at her.

"What's wrong with you??? Being so childish! That's exactly why you two aren't going anywhere!!! Do you want him to be your boyfriend or not???"

Mika gulped at the sudden anger of the "Cupid of Love" and answered anxiously, "Yes..."

"Then you've got to take action! He's waiting for you, he's longing for you-- with his entire body!!!"

At once, blood began pouring out of her nose as she thought of herself in a bikini and him holding her. She pulled a few tissues out of a tissue box and stuck it up in her nose. "E-entire body??? That's taking it too far--"

"Well, no worries. I'll be there to back you up." The woman patted her head and crossed her arms, the blue light filling the room again.

"Back up, right," Mika mocked as the woman began descending into the floor like quicksand.

"Oh, by the way, make sure to keep this from Sesshy. He has a grudge against me, just cause I have something going on with his brother. Kagome's my reincarnation you know," she said as her head disappeared beneath the floor. Just as the tip of her head was gone, Mika slammed her hands down onto the floor and exclaimed:

"YOU'RE RELATED TO KAGOME???"

But by then, the woman had already disappeared. Sesshoumaru poked through the door of the TV room and asked, "What's wrong?"

Mika shook her head tiredly and said, "I'm going to take a shower before we leave to the beach."

"Wait, the beach--"

Mika patted Sesshoumauru's shoulder and left the room with her boyfriend pondering about how she found out his plan.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~

The hotel windows creaked as they broke open from Mika's push. But even though the dust was irritating, the blue sky and the cry of the seagulls immediately called Mika down as she took in the scent of the sea nearby. When she finished her little inspection of the beach below their hotel room, she spun around, arms behind her back and smiled warmly at Sesshoumaru.

"Hey, hey, hey, can we go to the beach yet?"

Sesshoumaru didn't know where to look as she glanced at him. Not wanting to keep her waiting he nodded and said, "I'll meet you there."

So Mika went down the beach first, in her new bathing suit, which was two piece, not bikini just as the mysterious woman had suggested. The woman seemed to have lots of advice about boys, so why not take it for once. That's what she thought, as Mika pulled on the two piece swimsuit. She held a hand over her belly, feeling awkward as the air passed freely on her stomach, but not on her chest.

She plunged the umbrella into the sand when she found a perfect spot beside the sea and spread a few red blankets. She had brought a basket too, filled with magazines, a book she was reading, some sunscreen, two bottles of water, and of course, two towels.

As she waited for her boyfriend to come down, she gazed upon the sea, daydreaming about the rest of the day ahead. Images of Sesshoumaru chasing her sprouted in her mind. There was one scene she came up with her and him glancing at each other with intensity, and there was this other one where she and he were leaning each other, watching the sun set down, together in harmony...

"Sesshy~!" she squealed as she day dreamed on and on. Suddenly, she felt a slick, cold, slimy feeling on both of her shoulders, as two icy hands covered her eyes. The same seductive voice whispered into her ears.

"Guess who?" the voice said, as the slimy stuff on her shoulders slid down her arms. Mika screamed and broke away, pulling the hands off and spun around. The woman that had popped out of the screen was in front of her now, wearing a red, white, and blue bikini, complete with the 50 American stars representing the states and the red stripes.

"You again-- I mean, Cupid of Love???" Mika shouted when she recognized the doer.

"I have a name you know," she snapped, her eyebrows furrowing a bit. Mika gave her a long stare before replying, "Well you didn't exactly say in the last visit."

"Oh yeah? Well anyway, how's it going? What are you going to do when he comes down?"

Mika scratched her hair and pondered for a little while before answering. "I was thinking of holding hands..."

"ARGH! NO, NO, NO!" the woman yelled, throwing her fists in the air. "That's not enough! Not even close to the approach!" She snarled at Mika then lessened the anger in her face. "Though I'm impressed by a smite bit that you have changed your way of thinking." She gestured to her two piece swimsuit then to hers. "Though it would be more sexy if you just purchased a bikini--"

"I told you I ain't going that far!"

"Oh well, might as well go along with the plan." She held out a hand, the bangles still present on her wrist, and materialized a small, purple bottle with a cork stuck on the opening. The label read:

'Cupid Sunscreen'  
'Highly Toxic. Do not drink.'

" 'Hightly toxic... do not drink...' how is this supposed to help me?"

The woman whistled as a boy passed by, then shook a finger at Mika. "This is sunscreen. A regular sunscreen, originally made for girls. But since you aren't a guy, I modified it just a bit."

Mika folded her arms and said impatiently, "So what does it do???"

"All you do is rub it onto his arm and then he'll get so loving on you, you just have to kick him off!"

"So you're saying it'll make him wild as a lion?"

"I guess. It'll speed up your relationship. That's what's matters," she explained, handing it to Mika as she stepped out of the umbrella. Hesitant to use it, Mika began to call out the woman when she shook her finger at her again.

"The name's Kikyo. So long," she said, disappearing as fast as she appeared.

Just then, Sesshoumaru tapped her shoulder, giving her a shock when she spotted him. She blushed at the sight of him, and almost dropped the bottle of sunscreen when he looked at her with his innocent eyes.

"S-S-S-Sesshy-- I mean Sesshoumaru! T-that was fast!"

"I didn't keep you waiting?"

Mika laughed weakly as she eyed the bottle in her hand. "N-no!" He sat down beside her, watching her shake the bottle of sunscreen. Finally, she gathered all her courage and asked Sesshoumaru to hold out his arm.

"It's really hot outside, so we'd better put some sunscreen on. I got some for you. Hold out your arm, okay?"

"Okay," he said, holding out a strong arm that could easily break a boulder into thousand of pieces. She pulled the cork off of the bottle, threw a few drops onto her fingers then proceeded nearer and nearer toward his skin--

"Mika-chwan~!"

A hand slapped her bare shoulder, surprising Mika for the last time on the beach. She gave a yell of fear, flinging the sunscreen into a girl's face, then hugged Sesshoumaru for safety. "A SEXUAL HARASSER!!!"

Laughter followed her cry for help. A boy about Mika's age pulled on her hair playfully and told her to relax. She turned around and found her classmate Bankotsu beside her. She screamed again and held on tighter to Sesshoumaru.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE???"

"Vacation, dummy. Oh, and to court the girls."

"No one's going go after you..." Mika grimaced as she watched the youthful boy run his fingers in his hair. He was considered really good looking among the girls at Nokomi Tech, but Mika had absolutely no interest in him. She thought his playing and teasing was annoying.

"So who's your boyfriend," he asked causally, pointing at Sesshoumaru. Mika's face turned red as she released her hold on Sesshoumaru. She gulped and mumbled, "He's not my boyfriend, he's a transfer student from America."

"Oh, is that why his hair is bleached white?"

Sesshoumaru was about to snap and say that he was born this way but Bankotsu's so-called-girlfriend Nenai interrupted with a compliment on Sesshoumaru's looks. "He's really cute, your boyfriend."

Mika shook her head furiously at Nenai. "He's not my boyfriend!!!"

"Oh, don't be modest--"

"TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR--"

"Mika, do you want to go on the boat with us?" Bankotsu asked, gesturing to the big ship docked at the way far end of the shoreline. Mika stopped singing and turned to see the ship. It was HUGE. She shook her head and glanced nervously at the sea. "N-no thanks--"

"It'll be fun! Why not?" he complained sitting down beside her and slapping a hand on her shoulder. Sesshoumaru glared at him, yet he didn't take any notice except Mika's scared face.

Nenai kicked a foot at Bankotsu as she watched him talk to her. She coughed and said, "She doesn't want to, so let's go Bankotsu. They're all losers anyway." Bankotsu pouted and left her side. As they walked away, he waved and shouted, "I'LL TAKE YOU ANY TIME MIKA!!!"

Mika took in a deep breath when they left and sighed. _Now that, thats over..._ She gave a searching look around the area for the sunscreen, only to find that its contents were absorbed in the a long time ago. She picked up the bottle sadly and sighed again. In an attempt to cheer Mika up, Sesshoumaru suggested to go get ice cream for both of them and ran off.

In the corner of the cafe, Kikyo pounded her fists in irritation. "ARGH... she's such a moron... time for plan B..."


	3. Midsummer Night's Dream Pt 2

**~Midsummer Night's Dream~ Part 2**

The sun was burning hot on Mika's face as she waited in line to get a rental raft. As far as she could remember, she hated swimming and being in the water. The most she could bear with the cold liquid was when she was taking a shower or when the waves were lapping her knees. That was it. If the water went higher than that, she would faint or possibly go seasick.

But when you have a super good-looking inugami-sama waiting for you to sit next to him on the sea, why in the world would anyone pass up such a sweet opportunity? In fact, Mika would have not traded this moment to sit with the president or to win thousands of gold bars from a witch. As she lugged the boat back to the tiny figure in the distance, sitting in the shade of their perched umbrella, she felt little tingles inside her body.

What would he say? Would he praise her and take off this heavy load? Would he even hold her hand?

Her face was tomato red and her mouth open ready to squeal when icy cold hands wrapped around her neck. At first, she thought she was being strangled by some maniac. However, when she glanced at the colored fingernails with her brown irises, she realized it was the "Goddess of Love".

The expression on the goddess changed her entire flirty attitude. Instead of love, she was now the "Goddess of Wrath and Menace". Her black hair was curled up into tangles, while her godly golden windows peered at Mika with an intense look. Her bikini was soaked, Mika deducing that she had gone into the scary water for a quick swim to calm down, which backfired. Her hands were balled up into fists as she retracted, her teeth gritting against each making almost metallic sounds.

"You are the most idiotic girl I've ever met! Every woman has sex appeal and instincts and charms to get that man into their grasp, but you have a death grip!" She shoved her fist into Mika's face, shocking the poor girl. "A DEATH GRIP, YOU HEAR ME?"

Mika nodded rapidly four times, the childish fear of breaking your neck by nodding creeping up her back. "Y-Yes, I hear you. It wasn't my fault those guys came up on me and I dropped the sunscreen—"

Apparently, Kikyo had forgotten about the toxic sunscreen that Mika had flung somewhere on the beach. With renewed hatred and disgust, she plunged to the floor, clutched handfuls of sand and prepared to heave it at the girl. The college student saw this coming and backed up several yards until the goddess decided to throw the sand at a walking couple.

In a few minutes, Kikyo regained her composure and relayed her next plan to make Mika intimate with her new boyfriend.

"Okay, so, you got a boat. You were thinking of sitting out there alone, where no one could bother you, and then…" She cackled into a wild laughter, her hand slapping Mika's cheek, her other arm draped around her shoulder. "Yes, yes, such an excellent plan. That boy will thank me."

"Uh, so what's the plan?" Mika was sure that the goddess was now insane.

However, the woman thought otherwise, as her smile told her. She winked and snapped her fingers, the bangles sparkling with flamboyant lights. "Sit on the right. That's all you have to do."

~O~O~O~O~O~

And so, with Kikyo's echoing voice in the back of her mind, Mika took the right seat. Sesshoumaru sat on the left as Mika rowed them off into oblivion. He didn't seem to be having fun, sitting on a boat with moving blue stuff around him. When a particularly larger wave licked at his side of the boat, he whimpered and scooted closer to Mika.

"Eh…" Mika started, wondering how a divine being was scared of water. "Are you okay, Sesshoumaru?"

"Can we go back?" he asked swiftly. "Dogs don't like water."

"But you're a god dog."

His golden eyes flashed annoyance. "I don't understand you at all."

"Oh, sorry," she said, hurting inside. It was like a shard had poked into the side of her chest. "I'll row back then…"

But in the far away distance, with the help of a few seagulls' eyes, Kikyo was watching. She could also hear their conversation going into disaster. The smug smirk of victory worked its way up on her face. Soon, they would be closer than a married man and a woman. She snapped her fingers again, a sizzle of fire starting on the tip of her nail. She stood up, her hair gracefully unfolding behind her, and then she stabbed her finger in the air, at the direction of where the boat was at.

A gigantic wave the size of a Las Vegas hotel was conjured. It grew and grew until Mika saw the shadow above them.

Immediately, they panicked. Especially Mika, who dropped the oars beside them in fury that Sesshoumaru had something harsh, and that she was going to drown with no life-saver whatsoever.

"Just wait my dear," Kikyo whispered, enjoying the scenery of the wave crashing down onto the tiny boat. "When the wave vanishes, you'll be so happy." She bent her head backwards, exploding into laughter.

~O~O~O~O~O~

She felt like she was in a dream world. The light above her was soft, her skin touching a gossamer-like substance, like hair. There was a heat source all around her as well, resembling a Christmas fireplace, warming up marshmallows. She opened an eye, hoping that she was still alive.

She was very much not dead. She was very much alive, back against the boat, face next to Sesshoumaru's, and his body on top of hers.

Not in that way, of course. Just that this sudden heat and events clasping together was too much for her to behold. When he awoke and looked at her with his usual "huh, what's wrong" expression, she freaked out and slapped him on the cheek.

She pushed herself away, only to find that yet another obstacle was zooming their way.

On a cruise ship.

Back at the tan shoreline, Kikyo stomped her feet into the sand, digging holes that were muddled with tiny treasures of clams. She felt her temper rise again, her voice begging to erupt from her throat, her hair getting into a mess again. How dare that Bankotsu and his gang of whoever they were disrupt such a progressing moment? Not that Mika was particularly helping though.

As the ship zapped by, almost like the speed of light, (speaking metaphorically as ships cannot go as fast as light), the miniscule boat flipped over, its contents Mika and Sesshoumaru greeting the open waters with open mouths. Yes, it was painful as the seawater hit their eyes and entered their mouths.

Mika did not survive this fall and proceeded to drown as Sesshoumaru resurfaced, frustrated and utterly confused.

Up on the ship's deck, Bankotsu leaned against the railing, smiling with pleasure that he had broken a critical episode. Now all he had to do was play innocent and no one would be the wiser. "Oh Sesshoumaru! I'm so sorry! I didn't see you in your _boat_."

Laughter behind the handsome college student was heard when he said boat. Sesshoumaru was not pleased and he wished that he was a demon instead of a god. Then he could rip their heads off and tell the gods that it was his duty. But he _was_ a god and ripping off heads was not a thing a god was supposed to do.

Bankotsu continued teasing him. "Oh my, where's your _girlfriend_? I saw the look on her face as she drowned; I think she doesn't like a certain someone there—"

"You, shut up," he snapped, barring his fangs at him before diving into the abyss.

In the depths of the water, Mika's eyes stayed shut and her hair glossy from the little light trapped within the waters. She looked so sorrowful, so lonely.

An hour later, people crowded toward the beach at the sight of a beautiful white dog hauling a girl out of the water.

~O~O~O~O~O~

Mika awoke on a bed of linen sheets and a soft pillow. As she sat up, she surveyed the familiar hotel room with the window on her left, its golden fabric floating from the wind coming in. She glanced at the drawer they were renting that contained her clothes. Beside her lay her ruby phone, its cover shielding the screen from millions of scratches.

Her mind kept searching for pictures of Sesshoumaru. But the only ones she could find were the ones of him scowling, unpleasant of all the things around him. She seized her knees, pulling them up to her chin and resting on them. She wondered if he thought she was a bother. She must be, since she couldn't swim and she forced him to come out to such a dreadful place.

_I'm never going back to the ocean again_, she thought bitterly.

Then she heard voices, a female and male voice that made her sneak out of the room and into the hallway. Her bare feet surprisingly made no more than a plat on the smooth tile floor. She almost reached the place where people registered rooms when she decided to just eavesdrop.

She turned around the corner, her back still against the wall, her head barely visible so that she could see what was going on. In the middle of the enormous round room, there was Kikyo and Sesshoumaru talking.

Kikyo was wearing a plain white T-shirt paired with black jeans that suited the shape of her body. She had her hair up in a high ponytail, which made her seem quite normal compared to the people around her. Her and Sesshoumaru's golden eyes was the difference. The inugami was donned in a silver sweatshirt with similarly dark jeans, but his hair wasn't tied back, which also meant that he was in rush to get whatever he wanted to say out.

"…cruel. You're just plain cruel aren't you?" Kikyo said, crossing her arms across her chest. "You ruined my perfect plan to get you a girlfriend."

"A mortal that I am stuck with." The tone of his voice meant that he was not tolerant of his condition with Mika.

"Harsh Sesshoumaru. Very harsh words. She's a cute girl, don't you think? Or are you too busy thinking about what's her name? Oh yes, Kagura, or was it Rin? Look, I was trying to make your "unpleasant" situation pleasant. Girls like her, if you stick around them long enough, they make great girlfriends! I've seen it!"

"I don't care about getting into a romantic relationship. I just want to get back up there where I belong," he stated.

Kikyo cocked her head in the direction of Mika. "Break up then. She's right there. See if you can break the _bond_, Sesshoumaru." And with that, the goddess of admiration vaporized into air.

The college girl gave him a wave with three of her fingers. "I just came out. I heard nothing. I swear it. Scout's honor," she said, pounding her chest with a fist.

Sesshoumaru turned around, exiting the hotel. Mika pouted, and then released her frown as she realized that she had made a selfish wish indeed that made everyone unhappy.

Sighing, she slid down to the floor, sitting against the wall. Should she go after Sesshoumaru? But that's what the guy does in the movies right? When they finally find out that they were wrong to the girl, knowing that he truly loves her in the end? Don't American books end happily that way?

But this was Japan, unfortunately, not the happy-go-lucky America where kids grow up to be rocket scientists and doctors discovering a cure to cancer. Japan was where the single college student Mika lived, lonely and desiring a boyfriend—no, not even that. She just wanted a friend to talk to.

Sesshoumaru was definitely not that, as she could see.

~O~O~O~O~O~

When they returned to the temple without exchanging words, they went to their rooms right away. Mika, who slammed her face in her pillow in frustration, slept away the night, her tears soaking the blankets that wrapped around her body. Soon, it was morning when Mika decided that she would start fresh and try to speak with her "boyfriend".

She greeted her confused brother with her usual smile and proceeded to his room. As her hand clasped the cold wooden gap where you slide open the door, the words she heard made her confidence waver. What if he wasn't there? What if those names of the girls she heard was in there with him?

Most of all of the haunting questions was the one, what if he _hates_ me?

With that thought echoing in her mind, her fingers pulled away. She lingered in the hallway, staring at the door with a hurt face before leaving.

After a quick breakfast of rice, seaweed, fried pickles, and sardines without his presence, she went outside with books in her arms. Her school bag which hung on her left shoulder was heavy, not from the items, but from her recent action. She was still debating whether to say good morning to him or just go, pretending to forget that he existed. She was scared of his reaction if she went in and yet she wanted to throw herself into his arms, hoping he'd accept her embrace and hug back.

But not now will he allow her. Not ever, she thought as she boarded Hitachi's car.

The car left with the smoke trailing behind them. Just then, a white dog emerged from the shadows. When the dog assumed a humanoid form, Sesshoumaru stood there, watching the car zoom off into the distance.

He didn't know what to say or what to do.

~O~O~O~O~O~

College was no longer an easy obstacle she could withstand. It was like torture all over again, her brain not comprehending any of the professor's words. Lunch came and went with Mika going to her next classes without a drink or meal. The sun dipped lower in the sky until it was time to go. Mika was still exhausted and upset.

Sesshoumaru was on her mind all day. There wasn't a moment where she could think of something else. She kept wondering what the bond they were talking about was. She thought about why he went aloof all of a sudden and why were they acting like angry newlyweds. But as she kept going over possibilities, she came to no personal conclusion. She went home without as much as an intellectual assumption.

Just then, her cell phone vibrated on the side of her pants. Sliding her fingers into the pocket and grasping the phone, she answered the caller. It was her parents, who were suggesting an offer for her to come back to the house. A nearby university, even more famous and qualified, had sent in an application to her. This was an opportunity that she shouldn't miss, they said. After a "yes, I'll think about it," she pressed the red button and stuck the phone back inside her pocket.

What a perfect situation she was in. The choices in front of her were simple. She could continue her life at this university and try to make ends meet with Sesshoumaru. The other option was to run away and "break the bond", as Kikyo put it.

It was easy. She would pick "run away". And so she made her way home, the only thing on her mind a blue duffel bag.

~O~O~O~O~O~

The sakura, which are cherry blossoms in America, were being blown down by the wind. Petals, soft as a feather of a bird touched Mika's nose before she braced herself for what she was going to do. She brushed away the tiny pink thing from her nose and walked into the dining room. Sesshoumaru was there, squatting in front of a puppy he had brought home. The animal was thin and probably starving by the way it was lapping the milk so fast.

The dog god was stroking the fur of the puppy's head; his hear twitching when she approached him. He turned around, his eyes innocent, mouth closed while he waited for her to start the conversation.

Mika had her arms behind her, the other holding her wrist so hard she had a feeling there was going to be a mark on it soon. She was also doing her very best to keep the tears in and embarrassing herself. She gave him a beaming grin and motioned him to come over and sit with her on the porch. So they sat, side by side just like when they first met.

Who would've known that the end of their days together was over so soon? Sesshoumaru studied Mika's face, catching anxiety and hesitation.

"These five months I spent with you were awesome you know. Remember the first time we met? I was so silly." Her expression went grim as she reminisced about the beach. "We may not have the best time at the beach, but I still appreciate you being here."

Sesshoumaru sat without a word. He obviously didn't know when to stop playing the no-talking game.

"The thing is, my parents called. A really good university wants me to attend their school and so I'm thinking of moving back home. I have no money and I don't even know how to drive so…" She faced him with her brown orbs. "You know what that means right? We have to part. I actually think that's better for both of us. I mean, I don't know anything about you and you don't know anything about me…" She gazed at the cherry tree before them. "I don't even know how to cook. I guess I'm a horrible girlfriend." She chuckled, knowing well that she might as well have been talking to a wall.

"I shouldn't even put myself that high, right?" She stood up, her back facing him so that he wouldn't witness the tears trickling down her cheek. "You can go back to Heaven now. I'm not keeping you anymore. After all, there are a lot of other people that need your help."

Biting her lip, she took a step forward, in the direction of her room. She went gradually on purpose, hoping for a voice from Sesshoumaru, which she didn't get. She sniffed and wiped her nose with her hand. Mika hated ending farewells on such a sad note. Spinning around, she forced a determined expression and told him with no shiver in her voice:

"Get yourself a better girlfriend, all right?"

And then she turned around the corner, sprinting all the way to her room. When the door was securely locked, she cowered in the corner of her room, feeling her heart ache.

~O~O~O~O~O~

The next morning, Sesshoumaru rested his head on the dining table, with the puppy prowling around like some wild beast until he sent a message to the animal to stop. With peace at last, the puppy parked itself next to his arm, its eyes pleading for a rub. Sesshoumaru gave him his rub, thinking about nothing specifically.

Then Hitachi, Mika's brother entered the room. In his hand he had a can of Diet Coke. As he sipped it through the opening, he took a seat and chatted with Sesshoumaru.

"Hey, morning man."

"Morning," he replied in a monotone.

Hitachi smiled weakly as he felt the conversation being cut off. This guy was hard to talk with. "So anyway, how was the beach? You guys came home sort of quiet."

The dog god cocked his head toward the scenery to his right. Reminding him of the ocean was like reminding him of cats. Dogs didn't like cats and if he was a dog god, that meant he LOATHED cats. "Your advice didn't work at all. I hated the ocean and I bet she did too."

The brother shook his head. "You sure you just didn't charm her? I know she's stubborn and tomboyish and all but… those types of girls are easy to please."

"She wasn't happy," Sesshoumaru repeated, tapping his finger on the walnut finish irritably.

"Okay. So where is she today?"

"She said she was going somewhere."

"Do you know when she'd be coming back? Like the date or the time…?"

Sesshoumaru racked his brain. He had been listening vaguely to Mika last night under the moonlit sky, but the howls and barks of nearby dogs were especially loud that day. Being the god of canines, he possessed incredible hearing, and her voice just didn't seem that loud that day. However, he knew that she didn't mention anything about coming back anytime soon. "No. She'd probably call us with those square thingies."

"The phone," Hitachi identified. "It's called a phone."

"Oh," he replied.

And that was their conversation for the day. It sparked an interest in Sesshoumaru however. It made him ponder about why she had left so suddenly. Did something happen?

As much as he hated Kikyo, when Hitachi was away from the temple, he picked up the receiver from the phone. He pressed the pound of the arrangement of numbers and waited several seconds before a familiar voice answered.

"I have something to ask of you," he said. Then he put the receiver back and watched the trees until someone materialized into the room.

Today, Kikyo was wearing a white dress of satin. It extended all the way down to her heels, curling at the end that added a simple flair. She wore two blue bangles on each wrist, while on her head she wore a baby blue spiral headband. For shoes, she wore none and had the same hue of blue bangles around her ankles. Her black hair was let down today.

"I don't see the lady here today," she said as she examined the room with her normal vision. "Is she upstairs?"

"She went somewhere all of a sudden," he murmured. Kikyo put her hands on her waist and demanded that he spoke louder. He repeated it with more tone in it this time.

"Are you sure? Did she say when she was coming back?"

Everyone was asking that today. He didn't really know how it made any difference between knowing when she would come back and not. "No. She didn't say anything."

The Goddess of Love looked stunned. She seized his shirt and glared at him. "What did you do to her?"

"What's wrong with you?"

She pushed him away and snarled at him. "You idiot, she _left_ you! What about the bond? Do you feel any pain?"

He moved his head side to side. "I don't feel anything—"

With a look of someone who just saw a ghost, she snatched his wrist and searched for the sign of _bound_. It was a golden circle that reminded the god that he was on a contract to assist whoever he was assigned to. Except there was one problem; there was nothing. His wrist was as fair as fair could be.

She exhaled and fell into a chair. "I feel pitiful for you. Stupidly, you just let her go."

"What do you mean?"

Jerking back up to a standing position, she thrust her index finger at him. "This is exactly why I hate dog gods like you! You're exactly like your _brother_, clueless about everything you do! You care nothing but yourselves!"

And with that, she vanished without another word, leaving him stupefied. But in the back of his mind, he knew that he should at least visit wherever Mika had left off.

Even though he had been denying it to himself all night, he knew that Mika was no longer her usual self… and it was because of him. So he might as well find out what was going on.

He leaped out of the house, ascending to the sky as a white light. As the air surrounded him in serpentine strands, he changed his form to a great dog. He pounced about in the air until he was used to the strange oxygen, and then he raced through the sky, his paws making no sound because he was not on the floor. His nose was lifted high in the sky, sniffing all the scents around him.

Soon, he caught the faint perfume-like scent emitted from Mika. He landed and decreased to a movable size of a puppy. He sprinted across the streets when the college student came into view.

She was clad in an outfit of a green T-shirt that suited her body type, for bottoms brown cargo pants with tons of pockets, and tying back her hair was a white ribbon. Next to her was a boy, the same boy that had been standing on the cruise ship. His name was Bankotsu, as far as Sesshoumaru could recall.

He was about to step out and howl, certain that she would recognize him. Then, he would drag her aside and make her explain her sudden disappearance. However, just when he took his first step, he witnessed Bankotsu pulling Mika into a tight embrace. Shock was the adjective when she felt his body heat, shown by her open mouth.

Just right after that, Bankotsu held her face with both of his hands and kissed her mouth.

And right in front of the god she had a contract with. Or used to at least.

The very remains of the _bond_ he had with Mika vanished then.


	4. The Crystal Shattered on the Floor

**~The Crystal Shattered On the Floor~**

_I am an inugami,_ he reminded himself. It was foolish and shameful to back away, to turn away from that boy acting so _comfortable_ around Mika. The boy must have just kissed her as a greeting. He'd seen human mortals do that all the time. No biggie.

But he had meshed his lips on top of hers. He remembered that Kikyo had bugged him about the rules of kissing. That kissing on the cheek or forehead was usually a family thing. If it was the lips, it usually meant something was going on.

Yes, there was something going on, from what he saw in that position, standing four legged watching him and her.

Maybe it was because the personalities of dogs were loyal, playful, and did I say loyal? Perhaps that's the reason why there was an insignificant amount of throbbing in the left of his chest. A very, very, VERY, small twinge of jealousy, betrayal of someone he had been trying hard to trust. But it was there. And yet here she was, doing something that told him that he should stop lying to himself, stop beating his pride, and accept the truth.

Eventually, just the sight of them made him weak. The pain in his chest grew until he spun around and ran. The patter of his feet was loud. His claws scratched the pavement, his golden eyes seeking the answer to his mind-meddling questions.

Just then, Mika summoned all her strength and pushed away from the boy. Her heart pounding, her heart also hoping, she turned in his direction. She barely saw his tail as he went past the corner. Slapping away Bankotsu's reaching hand, she started to run. Her feet felt agony as she slammed her foot recklessly against the ground over and over again.

Sesshoumaru was fast, however. He was still yards away, maybe miles. But all she wanted to do was hold him tight and close and stroke his fur. The only desire that existed for Mika was to be by his side. Oh why couldn't he see that?

Finally, she found a voice in the back of her throat. "SESSHOUMARU!" she called, hoping he'd respond.

The dog gave no reaction. He kept racing away and then turned another corner, into a forest park. He zoomed into the tangling branches, making the distance between Mika and him farther. She struggled to see him as she nudged the branches apart. Continuing her sprint, she followed him deeper into the forest.

She ran for an hour or two, her mind so intent on catching up to him, she didn't realize that her shoelaces were untied. This led to her shoe falling off, making her feet vulnerable to the pricking of stones and sticks. Grimacing, she flung aside the shoes and kept on running.

But that event with the shoe had caused her to lose sight of her beloved. When she reached a clearing where the park ended, the dog was gone. She clasped a hand to her chest and swallowed, the sensation of her heart dropping into her stomach rising. Then the tears she thought she cried out yesterday came back out, like waterfalls from her brown windows.

"Sesshoumaru, you don't understand. I left because I thought I was being a burden. Please come back," she begged.

No response or rustle in the trees. She was alone and now that she had made the one person she loved run away, she had nowhere to go.

So she slid to her knees, her black bangs getting wet from her watery, red eyes. She sobbed and rubbed her eyes as hard as she could, but they wouldn't stop. They flooded and poured down so hard, Mika started to believe that she was going to go blind because of the salt water.

Finally, after twenty minutes to herself, she stood up and began walking back to Bankotsu. She had already decided. There was no turning back.

Little did she know, back at the temple he had found for both of them, Sesshoumaru had returned to his humanoid form, his knees against his face as he pondered about what he saw. He pondered about why Mika left and thought about everything else Kikyo had told him.

At this time, Hitachi had just returned home from a fun day of chattering with old buddies. He passed by Sesshoumaru and was about to go to his room when he paced back. He had never seen the silver haired guy look so solemn. As a man himself, he thought he had the duty to ask what was wrong.

"Hey dude, what's wrong?" He took a seat beside him, his eyes full of concern.

Sesshoumaru held his head a bit higher, revealing the fanged frown he had been hiding from the world. He was literally shaking, something you would never see from him. That meant he was furious… and probably heartbroken if you wanted to make things feel worse. "Just mad," he snapped.

"What are you mad about? As far as I can see, with my sister as your girl, you have a great life!"

He balled his hand into a fist and plunged his head back onto his knee. "I'm angry at your selfish sister."

Hitachi was confused. His opinion of Mika was very high, even though he teased her time to time. It was his job as an older brother. "She's not selfish. She's just stubborn. She's really dedicated."

A smirk worked up on Sesshoumaru's face. "Yes, she's stubborn. She's also very dedicated. If only she was dedicated to the people trying to HELP HER!"

Hitachi glimpsed at him with a more serious expression. "Did she do something bad to you?"

Sesshoumaru's teeth were gritted against each other so hard, by now it seemed as if he was trying to eat himself up, mouth first before eating his body. "She did… and she'll pay. For angering me…" All of a sudden, his shoulders relaxed. His clamped teeth were released and he opened his golden eyes. "Why are humans so hard to understand?"

The brother shrugged. "If you ask me, it's the girls that are hard to understand. They do things like flirt with other guys and then when we get mad, they start weeping, begging you to come back and let them explain. Most of the time, I think it's a coincidence we see them in a way that wasn't at all that happened, like catching her "cheating" on you, when she was really just talking to another guy. It takes a lot of work for them to convince us."

"I don't get it," Sesshoumaru responded. "How is it a coincidence?"

"What did my sister do anyway, that made you so upset?"

"I'm not obliged to tell you."

"Okay, I understand. Private stuff right? Can I take a guess?"

At this point, Sesshoumaru began playing the silent game. Hitachi took that as a yes.

"Let's see… the one thing that would make you really mad would be catching my sister hugging someone?"

Sesshoumaru didn't even flinch at his answer.

"She was kissing—"

"Sesshoumaru," a voice said from behind. The dog god's eyes widened and he stood up, turning around ever so slowly.

Tattered and bruised was a Mika without any shoes on. Her eyes were red from crying, while her mouth was shivering with sentiment. She held out a hand and then retracted it. "Hi," she greeted.

But the dog god was far from content with her existence. He was in fact; ready to burst into flames, if he had any flames. As he racked his head for something to do to vent out his cooped up anger, Mika tried to speak.

Where were the words though? Where were the words she had been rehearsing as she bicycled on a bike she rented in a rush back home? There was none and so she stayed quiet, waiting for the punishment that the god was going to present her.

And then it came; the sting of his hand, the claws that dug into her cheek. Blood sprayed onto the floor as Mika's head was forced to the side by the slap he had given her. She could feel the heat of his abhorrence gaze aimed at her face and then heard the sound of his disappearing footsteps. Immediately, she sprung back into reality and started to go after him again when a hand gripped her wrist tightly.

"Sis, don't go," Hitachi said, pulling her back. But Mika continued to tug and shake her wrist, refusing to let him go.

"Sesshoumaru!" she screamed out. But Hitachi's tone of voice silenced her.

"Mika, please, just go take a shower and get that cut on your face a bandage!"

The throbbing ache in her chest resumed, daring to burst out in the form of her heart. As her body's trembling increased, she forced herself to look away and busy herself with walking to the showers.

~O~O~O~O~O~

Water raining down her face was somewhat reassuring, but the wide gash on her cheek stung every time the cold liquid touched it. Soon, it was so painful; she stepped out of the shower and wiped herself dry. When she had clothes on again, she had Hitachi stick the bandages onto her face. _It'll be a while until the wound closes up. Oh well… it will be the painful reminder of the last moment we spent together. Even if it wasn't pleasant…_

To Hitachi, Mika was beyond miserable. In all his years as her elder brother, he had never seen her so down except for the time she threw his teddy bear (yes he owned a teddy bear when he was younger) down the drain and got yelled at. He wished there was something he could do to cheer her up.

But the only thing he could think of was to lay his arm around her shoulder and talk to her gently. So he did that, patting her head and lending his brotherly shoulder for her to cry on some more.

Outside the temple, clouds of gray were summoned from the north. They rumbled with impatience as Sesshoumaru strode down the path, not even noticing the little raindrops starting to fall. He was still thinking about what he had done and whether it was right.

He paced until the rain finally started its storm. The rain fell hard and without favor for Sesshoumaru, beating down on him like rocks. It was if it was telling him to get his butt back over there and comfort a girl that he had just clawed at. But if he went back there, what was there to say? He couldn't apologize because he had a godly pride to uphold. He also didn't want to see her tearing face.

"You still have to go back," Kikyo said, materializing before him. She put the free hand not holding her umbrella onto her waist. "Even if your contract is pending verdict on whether you should continue to stay with her or not, it's your duty as a _god_ to help people in need." Her hand left her waist and the same finger that was stabbed at earlier appeared. "Now get back over there or I'll call your brother down here to annoy you."

He glimpsed at her with eyes of broken pride.

"Look, I'm not telling you to confess your feelings or anything. I'm just suggesting that you should at least fix some of that wrecked _bond_. If the _bond _goes out completely, she'd go insane. Father will have your head when he finds out you have failed your mission to help a single girl."

"It went out already, didn't it?" he asked.

"Yours did. I can tell by the way you're so reluctant. But you know, if she still didn't have that _bond_ with you, she wouldn't have run after you right?" Kikyo smiled. "You think she was cheating on you or something right? Well look at this," she said.

She clutched her hand closed and then reopened them, slightly cupped. In her hand had materialized the sandals Mika had been wearing before. They were originally white, but from the dirt and weathering, Sesshoumaru could tell that what Kikyo was trying to prove was true. He glanced at the floor.

"What should I say?"

"Don't say anything. That's what I'll do." She leaned in and slapped his shoulder. "You're a male. Use your instincts okay?"

With that, she walked down the opposite direction of where he had been coming from.

~O~O~O~O~O~

She was resting in her room, her legs laid out before her like sticks. Mika was the only person in her room, with no noise to disrupt her. She was expecting no one when suddenly there was a scratching sound at her door. When she didn't get up and open the door, she heard the latch being pushed away and the door sliding to the side. In walked a dog with a wet white coat.

He tottered his way across from the clutter of stuff Mika had thrown across the floor like a magazine, a few pillows, some cans and potato chip bags, and some more books. He sat down beside her, his tail brushing against her bare legs when he passed by. Then he leaned into her face, ripped off the bandage that gave Mika quite the fright, and licked the wound with its warm tongue. She jerked awake and flashed the dog a look.

Then it ran away.

~O~O~O~O~O~

Evening had come when Mika found enough energy to come downstairs. Supper had been served again by Hitachi, and this time they got two guests. One of them was Higurashi Kagome, the shrine maiden of the temple who foresaw Sesshoumaru and Mika's arrival. She was somewhat strange at times, but when Mika spotted Kikyo, the Goddess of Love, she thought she was seeing double.

That's right; Kagome and Kikyo had the same face. It was easier to ignore when they weren't beside each other, but today they were sitting next to each other. It was a weird coincidence, but when Kagome "hmmphed", Mika could've sworn she was just like any other teenager.

Kikyo was still the same seductive flirter. She continued to speak with Hitachi with very risky sentences and winked at him all the time. Mika found her irritating.

And then, someone else unexpected joined them at the dinner table. That was Sesshoumaru of course, who took a seat beside Mika on purpose. Was he going to mend things up?

Well, with Kikyo chattering about all the love couples she had made this month, (which were probably made up stories) Mika had no chance to talk to Sesshoumaru. So they had to eat in silence once more, tasting the food, but not enjoying the sweetness of the red bean buns or the salty sardines.

It was again with the cherry blossom tree when they at long last had a hush-hush moment together. Mika counted on her fingers of the times they sat on the porch and watched the petals of the cherry blossom fly by. _Three in total_, she thought.

However, this time Sesshoumaru established the discussion. An unlikely action but if you looked at all the events of today, everything was unlikely.

"Did I lick too hard?" he asked. Mika blushed, wondering why he had to pick such topic to begin talking. Then she remembered he was a god and he didn't find many things that humans found embarrassing, _embarrassing._

"N-No, you licked just right. There still are a few cuts…"

"You need another lick?"

"NO! I MEANT… I'm sorry. Bankotsu called me out and…" Her voice boiled red when she remembered how Bankotsu had just kissed her for no apparent reason. She remembered how he had held her so tight she thought he was trying to strangle her.

"Oh, so that's what happened," said Kikyo as she draped her arms across their shoulders.

Mika gave her a puzzled smile. "Eh? Whad'ya talking about?"

"I can read your dirty little thought, Mika. Remember? I'm the Goddess of Love…" She shoved aside Sesshoumaru, her foot in his mouth as she cornered the poor girl. "You see Mika; I know what you were thinking. You were going to grab him and never let go once you were alone! But Mika, the key is not to rush. You have to let him start and—"

A strong arm that belonged to a ticked off Sesshoumaru is not a good thing. When the strong arm has a strong hand that seizes Kikyo's hair, it is a DISASTER thing. Therefore, when Kikyo was thrown out into the porch where the cherry blossom where the petals were coming from, Mika was not surprised at all.

~O~O~O~O~O~

Sleeping on a mattress on a cold, bamboo mat floor is very relaxing. Instead of closing your eyes, you can just stare at the ceiling until you somehow doze off. That's what Mika did when she retired to her room. She plopped onto the floor, head on pillow, and her body over the cold blankets. Time to time, she glanced at the trash she had piled up over the days and reminded herself that she needed to do some summer cleaning soon.

The dust that bunched up in the corner to her right beside the door was also another problem she decided to mop up the next day. Then, after a series of thoughts about the books she read and the beach event with Sesshoumaru, she fell asleep.

She dreamed of a lush, green paradise with trees every place you saw when you turned. Flowers blossomed with no difficulty. The sky was a clear blue, sometimes speckled with white cotton-like clouds. Children no more than age three played ball and swam in the river. Parents gossiped with their friends as they watched with amusement at the happy children. And the older teenagers held hands and exchanged romantic secrets with each other.

The scene shifted to a woman who was in the year before becoming a full-fledged adult. By her appearance of red hakama pants and a simple white kimono top, it was not hard to deduce she was a shrine maiden. In her arm, she held a longbow of red, while on the other shoulder she swung over a large quiver with many arrows. This woman held her head a bit high with pride, her expression of coldness and no passion for her career.

But in the end, when she passed by the children, she had to soften that frown. It was impossible for her to ignore the joy she fought for the children of this village. And so, when the kids spotted her and ran to her with open arms, she hugged them back, a smile working up onto her face. Her brown eyes sparkled with feeling then.

Soon, the miko had to leave the village. The scene changed to a battlefield in a barren clearing. Deer and other sorts of critters like squirrels and chipmunks lay as corpses on the ground. Demons of all sizes, snakes, bears, dogs, feral cats, women overcome by lust, and the ghosts of past warriors were surrounding the miko that Mika had dreamed of.

The miko was doing her very best to defeat the bakemono racing out at her. She drew arrows and shot them with ease every time she spotted an opportunity for kill. She kicked minor demons aside and squished them with her sandal, her wish for them to leave the world in peace fading with them, and knocked aside the annoying ones with her hand. They exchanged blood and scars until the only one standing in the center was the priestess.

She too collapsed, almost seemingly dead and did not awake until the next day.

The sun rose with the same pattern for all the years that past and to come. The dew on the grass wet her eyes as she pushed herself off the ground. The birds of summer greeted her with cheerful voices and fly away when she reached out to pat them. Wild horses that had moved in the night she was resting on the uncomfortable dirt. They nuzzled her with their warm noses and sometimes tried chewing her hair when the thought she was the grass.

There was one particular brawny and brown horse that approached her. He was very prideful, in horse behavior, as he strutted and threw his weight around as the boss. He often snorted and scorned other horses with teasing noises, but overall he was a great horse. This animal bent his head down until the priestess finally used his snout to pull herself up.

When she was on her feet, he neighed and waited for her stroke. She did so, combing out his tangled tresses and smoothing out the ruffles in his heavy coat. The horse, satisfied then trotted away, leading the friendly horses to another grazing spot.

The priestess, however, stood alone.

Eventually, she got tired of just standing there with no motive and continued to the next village, where she would hope that she would be lucky enough to get a few coins and buy herself a meal, even if it was only a bun or two.

As she neared the human settlement she suddenly spun around, arrow drew and strung onto her bow. Her eyes narrowed as she shifted the aim of her arrow slowly across the trees in front of her. Then, for the first time in this dream, the priestess spoke, her cherry lips moving with ease. It was as if speaking to an _inugami_ was a natural thing.

"Come out," she said gently. "I don't bite."

So a boy wearing a red garb came out from the trees. He looked to be about the age of 13, but when he replied to her comment, she knew it was just for appearances.

"I-I-I have-have come to gra-grant a wish. W-you can ask for a-an-anything y-you desire…!" He stuttered at every word and could not stop himself from shaking. His silver ears perched on top of his head twitched at every sudden movement.

"I am in no need of a wish. Please grant that wish to someone else," she politely said, brushing her shoulder against his. "Excuse me."

The inugami spun around and reached out with his hand. He grasped her shoulder and then retracted when she flashed him an icy look when she felt his touch. "Yes?" she said; the warmness to her words gone.

"O-Only you are-are allowed this wish. It-the- God said so!" He pressed his eyes with the palms of his hands and peeked from the tiny gaps his fingers made.

The woman turned to face him, a strand of hair falling aside from her bangs to her cheeks. "Very well. I wish for a companion to speak with and to become friends with. Is that a valid desire?"

He nodded vigorously, almost as if he had been waiting millennia for someone to say such thing. His face turned red as he smiled widely at her. "Y-yes! I shall return to the Heavens and ask for approval!"

He shut his eyes, the light emitting from him bright as a nebula. His body reshaped itself to a pup with white fur, with a few tan spots here and there. He bent his neck backwards and released a strong yet immature howl to the sky. Clouds gathered and crowded together to the very spot his voice ascended to.

When a similarly illuminating light struck him like a bolt of lightning, his body returned to humanoid form. He beamed at her and told her wish was approved.

"Thank you for granting my wish. May I ask who my companion will be then?"

The boy's smile did not fade. "Me, _Inuyasha_!"


	5. The White Blanket Over the City

**~The White Blanket Over the City~**

"Mika…"

As the college student awoke, she noticed there was a shadow covering her face. Wincing, she opened her eyes slowly. In her face, about two inches away, was her "boyfriend" Sesshoumaru. As usual, his eyes shone a brilliant gold, his face a perfect shape. His silver hair was softer than a feather and glimmered with luster while his lips… his lips.

"Are you awake now?"

Red in the face, sweat racing down her cheeks, she turned to the side slamming herself in a pillow. She ruined the chance for a free kiss—wait a moment, what's with these intimate thoughts?

"You wanted to kiss me?" he asked, obviously picking up signs of her thoughts. Mika refused to tell and sat up, almost bumping into Sesshoumaru.

"I-I-I'm going to b-brush my teeth!" With that, she kicked off her blankets and stormed into the bathroom, angry at herself at her stupidity.

As she let the small basin fill up with lukewarm water for her to wash her face, his face crossed her mind once more. Because he was a god of the heavens, he was so mesmerizing…

"Having love thoughts already in the morning? Ah, ah, not yet, my dear little Cupid," a seductive voice rang out. Yelping again, Mika spun around. Of course, the only one that would address her in such way would be Kikyo, who happened to favor sleeping in bathtubs.

She was wearing her usual outfit, which consisted of white cloth that wrapped around her body so many times it seemed as if she were wearing five layers of clothing. Over it, she draped a long red and purple cape that went over her shoulders, around her waist and stopped at her knees. All her clothing was comfortably tight that fitted her body shape, making her even more attractive. It was something that Mika had to admit that she was envious of.

Kikyo had her hair down, wearing a thick headband made of white laces. As she grinned at Mika, the college student had a feeling that she was going to be living her with Hitachi and the other as well. Mika wondered if Kagome, the priestess that owned the temple and looked very much alike to Kikyo was going to act like the teenager she was yesterday.

"Can you leave my bathroom so I can get ready in peace?" Mika snapped, snarling at her with her pearly whites. The goddess shrugged and exited the bathroom by sliding past the wall and into her room without using the door.

She approached Sesshoumaru and nudged his shoulder. "So, how did my plan go?"

The dog god was not pleased. He rolled his eyes and folded his arms. "Well, she sat up and almost bumped my head all right."

"What kind of thoughts did you catch?"

"…Something about wanting to kiss… I'm not sure, actually." The inugami looked up at the ceiling, trying his best to remember while Kikyo slapped her head with her palm. Men were truly clueless creatures.

~O~O~O~O~O~

When Mika finished a bowl of rice, a sardine, some fried pickles, and two whole glasses of milk, she raced out of the doors so she could go to the convenience store to buy some manga. However, when her sandals felt the cold chill of ice and the soft sounds she made as she walked, she knew something was wrong. As she shivered, she turned around to spot Sesshoumaru coming out already.

He was not happy and in fact was growling. He began to pace quickly and then ran, picking up Mika into his arms along the way. Then he jumped a great jump into the air and landed on the temple rooftop, Mika hanging onto him as if she were about to fall off a cliff.

Mika turned her head to see what Sesshoumaru had seen that made him so panicky. There was nothing, but all of a sudden, Sesshoumaru spun around sharply.

Standing in front of them was a boy wearing red garments. His kimono was red from toe to head, while his hair was as silver as the shadows cast over the snow. Atop on his head were two ears, seemingly fluffier than ears should be. Mika felt a sudden urge to jump out at him and stroke those ears.

"All right Sesshoumaru. It's time to die!" the red clothed boy yelled, dashing out at him with claws before him. But before Sesshoumaru could knock this boy out as he probably intended to, a silhouette appeared before them. The black hair of the goddess of love danced for a few moments as the wind passed through the strands.

Instantly, the boy stopped and met Kikyo's eyes. He stood up to his full height, the white sparkles in his eyes shaking with admiration and surprise at the same time. He stretched out a hand and then put it back down.

"Kikyo, why are you defending this jerk?" he said.

Kikyo lost all of what was left of her usual mischievous mood. With obvious disdain brimming in the form of tears that fell from her eyes, she stabbed a finger at the boy. Then, in a loud booming voice Mika and oddly Sesshoumaru had never heard before, she stated this very sentence:

"CHEATER! YOU DIRTY CHEATER! ROT IN THE FLAMES OF JUDGEMENT!" Raising her arm, she clutched a handful of snow and flung it in the boy's face.

It hit right on mark on the boy's nose and before he could get his bearings, Kikyo threw another snowball at him, this time with a rock embedded inside. When she saw that the boy would not go down from such a simple attack, she raised her arms in the air and began to chant. "Oh mighty warriors of snow, gather into one being and attack this CHEATER OF MINE!"

The boy wiped the snow from his face desperately and held his hands before him in protection. "K-Kikyo! Please, let me explain my presence and—"

An enormous shape of a brawny snowman came to life as seconds ticked by. Within moments, the snowman stood straight and aimed two black rock eyes at the boy. The snowman gave a grunt before charging toward the boy who was then shoved off the roof.

Sesshoumaru and Mika peeked over the roof just in time to see the boy hit the floor. When he did, he let out a gigantic bawl and started to cry. Mika couldn't help but feel pity for the boy. She turned to Sesshoumaru and gave him a weak smile.

"Let's go inside… I'll make lunch," she suggested. With that, Sesshoumaru leaped back onto the snowy floor and set her down.

Kikyo on the other hand, glared daggers at the boy until Mika called her in.

~O~O~O~O~O~

The kitchen was dusty, full of cobwebs, and completely covered in black soot until Mika moved in. After a while of brushing and sweeping, the college student and with the help of her boyfriend and the temple miko Kagome, the kitchen was now sparkling clean. There was just one problem.

Whenever Mika's hands touched a knife, spatula, fork, spoon, measuring cup, pan, eggs, flour, tomatoes, even bananas, that usually meant disaster. When Mika and Hitachi were young, Mika used to watch her mother make delicious dinner. Obviously, Mika had tried to imitate her. But it was just simply death when Mika tried to make something.

The only thing that turned out okay would be instant noodles, instant vegetables, and ice cream. That was pretty bad, if Mika had to live on her own food. After all, she would be living on ice cream and no cereal, because she couldn't even make that!

Truly, Mika was never meant to be a chef. But on that day, she tried to create a cake anyway. She did her best following the instructions on the cookbook, making sure no egg shells got into the mixing bowl, the milk in the measuring cup exactly what the cookbook said to be filled up to, and hoping that when she added the sugar no stray hairs got in.

Then, when the final result was finished, she stuck the unready cake into the oven. She wiped her brow, setting the oven to the right time and was about to push the button, when she had a second thought. Why were the degrees so high? It would burn the cake! So from a woman's intuition, she ignored what the cookbook said about the cooking time and set it lower than it was supposed to be.

As the cake was heating up, she poked her head into the living room. Seated around the tiny table were Kikyo, Sesshoumaru, Hitachi, and the boy wearing red garments. They sat there staring at the television box, bored, and sometimes lifting the tea cup to sip at the liquid. Kagome was probably still in her room, studying to get into a college.

Then with a _ding_, Mika rushed over to the oven and pulled the door down. She took the cake out, smiling with pleasure until she saw how ugly and cool the cake was. She set it down on the kitchen counter, staring at the lumpy, egg and milk mess. She stuck a finger into the cake and was about to taste it when Hitachi raced into the kitchen, probably trying to stop his sister from tasting her death cake.

"MIKA!" He panted and shoved her finger away from her lips. Then he cleared his throat, resting his hands on his waist. "This cake is hideous! You didn't bake it long enough!"

"But the cookbook time seems to be too long! I mean, two hours? Wouldn't it get roasted?" she argued.

"Well, maybe, but you just stuck it in the oven for half an hour! That doesn't work; it has to ferment and stuff!" Hitachi shouted back.

"Isn't that for bread?"

"Well, whatever! You could've tried one hour. That would've been reasonable. Now stick it back in there for an hour." He walked to the cake on the counter, took it and put it back into the oven, where he then turned the timing dial to one hour. Mika was skeptical.

"I heated the cake for half an hour already. I think another half hour should do it. I mean half plus half equals a whole."

"No Mika. You know nothing about cakes. Do you want me to remind you about the instant noodles and telephone?"

Mika rolled her eyes. "Will you stop bringing up those dangerous topics? Besides," she said, stopping the oven and setting the dial to half an hour, "at least I cook more than you."

"At least I can make a decent, edible meal, unlike your instant meals."

"Hey, if you can stand eating McDonalds all week, be my guest. And who barged into my house, huh?"

Hitachi narrowed his eyes as he prepared to make his rebuttal. "Oh, _your_ house. I thought it belonged to that teenage priestess Kagome."

"You know what I mean!"

"No, I don't." He stopped the oven again and adjusted the time back to an hour.

"Hitachi," Mika growled in frustration. Her fingers fought for the control of the dial.

"Mika, you should listen to your older brother!"

"I don't acknowledge a playboy as my older brother! Now put it back to half an hour!"

"AN HOUR!"

"HALF AN HOUR!"

By now, the cake was beginning to turn black around the edges. But amidst their disagreements, they did not notice the smoke of the burning cake after twenty minutes, until Kikyo walked into the kitchen.

~O~O~O~O~O~

"The cake is ready," Mika proclaimed, trying to look as cheerful as one could be when you try to fix a burnt cake with lots of sugary frosting.

She put the platter onto the table. Smiling weakly, she glanced at Sesshoumaru and brushed a hair behind her ear. He returned the gaze back, intensely as usual. Instantly, Mika felt her body stop functioning. She imagined a scenario. There they were, sitting at the glass table. He would be sitting patiently, beaming and looking as handsome as ever. She would take off the cover and watch him eat. At first, he would be eating with delight… but soon, his face would turn purple. He would fall over and kick the bucket. In the background, she would be holding her face and crying holy mamma…

_No! I can't give it to him!_ Mika shook her head and forced herself to retrace her steps back into the kitchen. She began to summon all sorts of excuses but then cast it away, deciding that she would take the path of most resistance. _It's a sin to hide away my feelings. If he dies, so will I!_ Biting her bottom lip, she pulled the metallic lid off.

Steam poured out of the platter like water. It enveloped the room, circling the corners and seats of the people seated. But it didn't stop there. The steam kept on flooding, kept on hiding the monstrous thing underneath its white veil. Soon, it was impossible to see the table. Mika let out a sigh of relief and swore to herself this was God's blessing. No one would have to suffer for her—

"What the heck is this? It looks like yak dung!" The boy who Sesshoumaru was battling with stood up with the destroyed cake on his right hand. He took a whiff. "Hey, Sesshoumaru, I think she's trying to kill us."

Leaping onto the table, he shoved the mess under Sesshoumaru's nose, almost as if the cake was a deadly sword. "Here… smell it."

Sesshoumaru's hand shot out from the steam and seized the boy's hand. His face was emotionless, yet his eyes were telling of a tale of how his fingertips itched to hang the boy on a tree. "I can smell this from a mile away."

Mika gasped. _HE SAW! I'M DEAD! _A droplet of salt water fell from her eye. She began to weep, obscuring her face with her hands. If Sesshoumaru hated her cooking, she couldn't face life anymore. And if she couldn't face life anymore… well, there wasn't much to do with life other than throw it away. After all, many of a woman's dreams are cooking a scrumptious meal for their beloved. Mika could only make bombs.

With one hand poised in the air, she called out to Sesshoumaru dramatically, "Goodbye…"

But she was hastily cut off at the "guh" part.

"The reason why I could smell this so far away is because this is the best smell I ever smelled. If that makes sense. Now let's chow," he said, pushing the boy back into the corner. Kikyo, who was sitting in front of Sesshoumaru simply dodged and let the boy slam into the wall painfully.

Laughing without much enthusiasm, Hitachi carefully set out the china. As the plates were laid on the table and forks were counted, Mika sat down next to Sesshoumaru. She was wondering if those kind words really came out of his mouth. Her cheeks becoming rosy, she began to comb her hair with her fingers, entangled with her daydreams of Sesshoumaru and herself…

"Ahem," Kikyo said, pretending to clear her throat. She brushed away a stray bang and licked her lips. "Let's dig in this baby." Kikyo snatched the knife from a nervous Hitachi and started to divide the cake into equal slices. The knife slid in easily surprisingly, despite the charred surface of the cake. The insides must have still been lumpy.

One by one, the cake pieces were distributed. Hitachi winced and leaned away from the object when the cake was given to him. Sesshoumaru acted as if it was normal-looking. Then Kikyo cut out a thin piece for herself. She pulled a cherry and a strawberry out of the air. When it was placed on the center of Mika's disastrous creation, she clapped her hands together.

"Now, let's eat!"

The red-clothed boy poked Kikyo. "What about me—"

Kikyo single-handedly flung him outside. "_Ara, _did I hear something?"

Mika shook her head. "No, no, you didn't hear anything." Now Mika felt as if there was a chance for her to live. It was all up to Sesshoumaru. She blinked longingly at him and squeezed his arm with her hands. "So… aren't you going to start?"

"That's right! As her boyfriend, you should have the pleasure of tasting her cake first!" Kikyo chimed in. She put her elbows on the table and closed her eyes. A type of body language that meant "you better make her happy 'cause I don't want to eat this piece of trash".

Sesshoumaru laid his hand on Mika's head. He really didn't want to eat it. If possible, he would rather become a Demon and cast away all social contact if he could just avoid this cake. But he was a god, and gods were supposed to be kind and loving. It was his duty to withstand this torture from a very impish woman sitting across the table.

"Anything to make you…" Sesshoumaru cringed. He felt like a dog. Wait, he was a dog. "To make you happy. Do you mind feeding it to me?"

Kikyo whistled a short tune. Suddenly, this dense man had become all bold. She opened her eyes and watched Mika pick up the fork. Slowly, she cut a tiny portion of the cake and held it to Sesshoumaru's mouth.

"Um… it's going in, okay?" Mika gulped. _I'm actually going to feed my cake to him! Doesn't… doesn't he know what's in it? But he must be doing this out of love… oh, Sesshoumaru! I hope you have a fine time in a heaven for gods!_

Sesshoumaru edged away right before the fork reached his lips. He didn't meant to, but the thought of that rubbish, that ghastly brown hardened poop-like texture, entering his mouth! He could die! He could die at that moment.

His girlfriend noticed that right away and froze once more. Mika quivered. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea. Oh, she was such an idiot! Why did she ever try making a cake when she knew it was going to kill the world?

"Er, um, is…" The fork lowered and Mika backed away. "I'm sorry!"

Kikyo let her mouth hang. _No, Sesshoumaru, NO! You can't let this escape! She's going to run! _She pounded the table. Once, twice. That meant "you moron, hurry up and do something".

Only one thing came to mind. In a split second, he leaped at her like a cougar and embraced Mika. They hit the floor, Mika's head going black, and Sesshoumaru's face going red.

"S-Sesshoumaru?" The college girl shut her eyes. She was afraid of what was going to happen. Was he going to slaughter her with his divine powers just because she made such a horrible cake? Now Mika truly regretted attempting at baking, let alone living.

The Goddess of Love snapped her fingers. Sesshoumaru tensed. He hadn't learned what that one meant. Some time ago, Kikyo trained him like a soldier at boot camp about these signals she would send him. There was the foot-tapping, pushing away a hair strand from her left ear, folding her arms… what were the snapping fingers?

Kikyo snapped again. The boy in red beside her began to suspect something.

Another impatient snap of the fingers. Sesshoumaru began to feel a burden had been placed on his shoulders. Surely, this was an awkward position. It was so strange, he could hardly think. What should he do? _Something that would make Mika pass out… then we could dispose the food…_

Then it came to him. It was embarrassing, but he had to do it. Besides, they were boyfriend and girlfriend right? He always saw the humans doing this all the time. Sometimes at the park, even in a tree. Well now, it was his turn. The ultimate, romantic weapon.

"Mika…" He stroked her waist. "Have you lost weight?"

Kikyo clenched her fork. _Nincompoop! WHY DIDN'T YOU KISS HER? THAT WAS WHAT THE SNAPPING FINGERS—oh, forget it._ She brought her fist down on the table. Sesshoumaru sat up immediately, while Mika fainted at the same second he looked up.

"I'm going to take a breather from you two." Growling, Kikyo silenced any notion to start talking from all conscious individuals in the room, and then exited outside. No one spoke for five whole minutes, just tense and still in the very spots they were in.

Then Sesshoumaru left the room, embarrassed, shamed, and utterly speechless.

The red-clothed boy followed suit.

And then… that was that.

* * *

**Author's Note: I was laughing when I read this over again. Gotta at least finish this fan fic. Though I wish someone would read this, though.**


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